Surf Travel | Headlines and Top Stories

Ukraine doesn't usually get spots listed in surf travel guides. It simply isn't the ultimate surfing destination. But, can you actually find waves and surf in Ukraine?

Ukraine - whose term derives from "ukraina" (borderland or frontier region) - has 44.6 million people. The second largest country of the Old Continent has 2782 kilometers (1729 miles) of coastline.

The country has a mostly temperate continental climate, although the southern Crimean coast has a humid subtropical climate. The small Ukrainian surfing community is only able to find waves in two different water resources: the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. That is not a problem, though.

There are not many places in the world where you can go surfing and snowboarding, in the same day. Waves and snow separated by a handful of miles. Wipeouts in liquid water and solid ice.

In Sochi, in Russia, is one of those magic places. But there's more about this city that you might not know. Sochi is one of the very few places in Russia with a humid and subtropical climate, which means hot summers and mild winters.

The country's most popular resort was also the favorite vacation home for Joseph Stalin, the former leader of the Soviet Union. The truth is that Sochi is really perfect for the long summer days bathed by the Black Sea.

With 491 kilometers of coastline, Poland is one of the most unique surfing countries in Central Europe.

Poland has many neighbours. It is bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, Lithuania, and the Baltic Sea to the north.

The Baltic Sea has its secrets. In order to get waves for surfing, Polish riders have to wait for strong onshore winds to build swell followed by a brief period of cross or offshore winds.